Of Lost Happiness and Lasting Pain
by gracelessheart
Summary: A regular consult case suddenly turns into a hostage standoff, with an unpredictable UnSub, dozens of lives at stake and split focus with one of their own on the inside. Some focus on Morgan/Prentiss.
1. Prologue

**Of Lost Happiness and Lasting Pain**

**Author's Note: **So, in your reviews, you've asked for a multi-chapter story. And I decided to give it a try. There will be a case and there will be focus on the team. Mainly Morgan/Prentiss since it's half the reason for why I watch this show at all. So, be patient with me and I hope you feel it's worth reading! Title taken from _Paradise Lost _by John Milton.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

–

**Prologue **

_He traced the writing on the cold marble stone for the hundredth time. Her name. It shouldn't be there. He ran his finger along the date. The date two lives ended. Hers literally and with that, so had his. His whole body hurt. Everything hurt. It hurt to think, to breathe, to simply exist when she wasn't there anymore. People had told him to give it time, that grieving was always awful especially in the beginning but then he'd learn to deal with it, grieve in a different way they said. Well, he didn't see that happening. _

_And no one cared. No one felt responsible for such a stupid mistake. Because it had been a mistake, people had screwed up and that's why she wasn't with him anymore. And no one blamed them. Did they even remember her name? Probably not. To them, she was just another case with a tragic outcome. They could screw up, destroy someone's life and then move on to the next. No on held them responsible for anything, so then, how would they ever learn?_

_He slowly removed his hand from the tombstone, reading the inscription at the bottom. The few words he had so carefully picked out. Words he'd told her on so many occasions and no matter what, he always meant it just the same. She used to tease him for it, for being such a sap but he didn't care; he still said it over and over again. _

"_Us against the world."_

_He knew it was rather cliché, because it was. But the fact that to them, that phrase had meant so much. People would smile, say "aww, that's great" but never quite grasp the real meaning behind it. He stared at the cursive writing for another long moment before standing, brushing the grass off his jeans. He looked around the churchyard, wondering how many other heart wrenching stories lay behind these tombstones. Plenty, he guessed._

_As he reached his car, he simply sat in the driver's seat for a while. His hand was shaking, from the cold or from what he was about to do, he didn't know. Pulling the gun from his pocket, he weighed it in his hand. It was so heavy. Before yesterday, he'd never held a gun before. He was frightened, he had to admit that. But people had to be reminded. Taught their lesson. Thoroughly reprimanded. No one should have to go through this again. _

_And even though it scared him, there was some personal gain. At least for a moment. Because people were going to pay. Pay for their fatal mistake. _

_They were going to be punished. _

_He put the key in the ignition and backed out from the parking lot. As he drove back into town, gun heavy in his jacket pocket, he set his mind. _

_It's us against the world, Anna. _

–

**You're more than welcome to review this short and maybe even confusing prologue. I'll post the first chapter immediately so you'll get some sense of this story! **


	2. Chapter 1

**Of Lost Happiness and Lasting Pain**

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**A/N: **I very rarely do multi-chaptered stories, so reviews are appreciated!

**Chapter 1**

It was a beautiful day.

Many days had been for the past weeks because spring was quickly making room for summer, and the warming sunlight streaming through the windows of the BAU made it impossible not to be in a good mood.

It was the end of May and the longing together with the expectations of the upcoming summer made people unusually jovial. One of the few people who weren't seemingly affected by this was Penelope Garcia. She was probably one of the few people on the East Coast who maintained the same cheery mood all year around. As she swept into the bullpen this morning, she was in an exceptionally good mood and Reid, the only one currently by his desk couldn't help but smile.

"Do we have a case?"

"Well, good morning to you, too, Baby Einstein. Am I not allowed outside my office unless we have a case?" she shot him a look.

"So we don't have- " he started but was interrupted by the analyst who was apparently there to deliver some kind of information, and since she had a folder in her hand it was probably a case. But since she was in such a hurry even before the clock struck nine there was most likely more news to be delivered. Knowing better than to start ranting again, Reid went back to leafing through the folder in his hands.

"We do, so where's the rest of the crime fighters? I know JJ had some issues with Henry's daycare but the others?"

"It's Friday," he said in way as if that explained the absence of the rest of their team.

"Oh, right..." Garcia glanced at the big clock on the wall. "But it's almost nine, they should be here by now."

As if on cue, the heavy glass doors were pushed open and Morgan and Prentiss appeared, identical coffee cups in hand and wearing identical smiles. Morgan said something, making a rather silly face and Emily laughed.

"You're late, " Garcia greeted them as they came within earshot.

"Aw, come on, Penelope. It's only five minutes." Morgan grinned and patting her shoulder. Garcia shot him a glare before her face brightened again as if nothing happened. It was nothing really. Everybody knew about the two partners' sacred Friday breakfast routine. Secretly, Garcia thought it was good for them. Things between them hadn't been so great since Emily returned from Paris and she was just happy they'd managed to rebuild the trust and mend their friendship.

"Whatever. There are two pieces of information I want to share with you this lovely morning. One, a surprisingly romantic Kevin Lynch has apparently made some pretty awesome getaway plans for this weekend and that leads me to number two. Which is that you have to fix this- " she held up the file. "in a flash so I can go. Deal?"

Her friends smiled at her regular exuberance and followed her up the stairs to the roundtable room, the three agents making smalltalk about their own weekend plans. As they took their seats around the table and pulled up the case file on their tablets, JJ came rushing in, Henry clinging to her shoulder. From the indignant look on the boy's face, he knew this wasn't the time to make a fuss.

"Hey, I'm sorry I'm late. And for...this," she glanced at her son who looked around the room. A small smile crept onto his face as he recognized the familiar faces of his mother's co-workers. "Will is coming to pick him up in a couple of hours but if we have to fly out, I..."

"It's okay. This is local," Hotch offered. JJ nodded, seemingly relieved. "Garcia, let's run through it." Hotch decided to try to speed up the process since Henry's presence easily diverted the attention of all team members.

"Okay. Meet Darcy Jackson and Amanda Sims. Born and raised in D.C." She pressed a button on the remote and two photos appeared on the flatscreen. "They were both reported missing and their bodies were found not long after that. Between two to five days. Darcy was found only three blocks from her apartment in a local park. Amanda was found in the alley right by her apartment building."

"And the connection?" Emily asked, flicking through the photos that also appeared on their tablets.

"They both worked at Georgetown University Hospital. Darcy was a nurse in the ER and Amanda a surgical intern. And this." Garcia pressed another button and a photograph of a handwritten note appeared.

"I lied. It was my fault." Reid read out loud. "Different handwriting on each note, the UnSub probably made the victims write the notes themselves."

"He did. Local P.D has already matched the handwriting with samples from the hospital, " Garcia confirmed. "And the main reason for the local police's reluctant cry for help is that this woman, Jessica Dickinson, didn't show up for work yesterday and was later reported missing by her mother. She's an ICU nurse at the same hospital."

"Well, I guess it's safe to say this guy has some serious issues with this hospital. If he targeted medical personnel, it's unlikely he would choose victims from the same hospital and risk the police making the connection so easily." Morgan pointed out and the others nodded in agreement. Henry had made his way around the table, happy to get cuddled by all of his mother's co-workers. Now he was back with JJ who sat him on the couch by the wall, turning his back to the flatscreen. Not that it seemed to make any difference, the young boy was occupied with some game on JJ's iPhone.

"Rossi, you and I will head to the police station and see what they've got so far. Morgan and Reid, I want you to check out Jessica Dickinson's apartment just to confirm that it is connected to the other two. It's probably too much of a coincidence but we still have to check. Prentiss head out to Georgetown, talk to the staff and see if anything out of the ordinary has been going on lately. JJ, when Will has picked up Henry, I want you to join us down at the police department."

The team nodded, gathered up their stuff and filed out, all of them stopping to say a quick goodbye to Henry who had now produced two toy cars from JJ's bag on the floor. They rode down the elevator to the parking lot and with a few parting words went their separate ways.

–

The morning passed quickly. Reid and Morgan had searched through Jessica Dickinson's apartment and found nothing that indicated Jessica Dickinson wasn't connected to the two previous victims. They even found photographs revealing she and Darcy Jackson had attended college in the same class, graduating only two years prior.

Emily made her way to Georgetown University and despite the slight chaos of the Emergency Room, she managed to find a Dr Perry who had worked with both Darcy Jackson and Amanda Sims. She showed her credentials and shook the doctor's hand, but before she managed to ask him anything, the doors to the Emergency Room burst open and man barged in.

Emily recognized his face in an instant. Maybe it was the anguish and determination clearly written on his face. Or the emptiness of his eyes. She had seen that expression on too many faces before. That was probably why an icy shiver cut down her spine and her hand went instinctively to the gun on her hip. Time seemed to slowed down as he stopped and pulled out the object he'd been hiding in his jacket pocket.

As shots rang out and chaos broke out, one single coherent thought formed in Emily's mind, that was already analyzing the situation.

"_This is not good." _

–

Back at the BAU, Morgan and Reid had made their way back to the office. They were surprised to find JJ still by her desk, trying to finish some paperwork while Henry pushed his toy cars around her feet, making vroom vroom noises. Agents passing by smiled fondly at the little blond boy on the floor, while JJ mostly looked annoyed as she tossed her phone back onto her desk. Probably another failed attempt at reaching Will and ask why he was late.

"Oh, thank God!" she burst out, visibly relieved, as Morgan approached and swooped a squealing boy into the air and then settled him in his arms. Henry giggled and started pushing his toy cars across Morgan's shoulders.

"He's probably stuck in traffic. It was hell getting back here," Morgan said and shrugged. "Prentiss not back yet?" he then asked and slumped down in her chair as Henry settled in his lap. Reid sat down by his desk, making funny faces at the boy, who laughed and stuck his tongue out before dissolving into giggles again.

Before JJ gave the rather obvious answer to Morgan's question, the glass doors opened once more and stressed looking Will entered. JJ stood, hand already raised to point an accusative finger at him.

"Well, I'm sorry. There's some funny business going on down in Georgetown. Took me almost an hour to get out of D.C. Passed at least a dozen patrol cars on the way..."

"Georgetown?" Reid looked up from his file and exchanged a suspicious look with Morgan. "Where?"

"Dunno. Spotted a chopper hovering around the hospital but... -"

Suddenly getting an odd feeling, and not at all liking the sounds of this, Morgan grabbed the remote from JJ's desk and turned on the TV. He quickly found a local news channel. As the words "breaking news" rolled across the screen a lump was already forming in his throat. An image of Georgetown University Hospital appeared and a reporter appeared. In that moment, JJ's cell went off.

"Hey, Hotch. Yeah, we're watching. Are you sure?" There was a pause. "No, we haven't. Yeah, they just came back. But has it been confirmed? What do we know? Oh, shit...Okay. I will. Bye."

She hung up and immediately started explaining the situation to Will at the same time as she briefed Reid on her short conversation with Hotch. But Morgan didn't really pay attention. He made out the words "hostage", "definitely armed" and "shots already fired".

The team was suddenly off in different directions in a millisecond. Morgan's eyes remained glued to the screen as he listened to the perky, annoying voice of the news reporter. Henry, oblivious to it all, sat comfortably on his lap, clutching a toy car in each of his chubby hands. Instinctively, he held the boy closer as the news channel showed footage from the hospital where perimeters were already set up. He spotted a familiar black SUV on the parking lot.

"Dammit, Emily..."

–

**Author's Note: **Okay. So that was chapter 1. Still feeling a bit out of my league here but I'll give this a shot. Feedback would definitely help. Please be honest!


	3. Chapter 2

**Of Lost Happiness and Lasting Pain**

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**Author's Note: **Thank you for your kind reviews and to all of you who put this story on alert. I hope I won't disappoint you! And since I'm not that into law enforcement procedures, it won't be extremely detailed. I'm intrigued by human interaction, that's the main reason for why I'm writing at all, and the chemistry between the characters on this show is the main reason to why I watch it, so the story will focus on that. Not investigative work. Just giving you a heads up.

–

**Chapter 2**

To say the mood in the SUV was tensed would have been an understatement. Morgan, Reid and JJ had stormed out of the BAU, briefly explained the situation to an already suspicious Garcia and then taken off, leaving Will in the parking lot with Henry who asked why mommy looked so scared.

Morgan knew he was driving like a mad man. He was usually a good and rather calm driver, even in emergency situations but judging by the looks from his two passengers, his emotional state of mind definitely reflected in his driving. With sirens on and going way over the speed limit, they made it to D.C in record time. Morgan flashed his ID at the police officer down the street and then sped down the road. He parked haphazardly in the middle of the street after spotting Rossi and Hotch's car. As he killed the engine and they got out to join their supervisors, JJ caught up with him.

"Hey, Morgan, hang on a second," she said and halted him by placing a gentle but firm hand on his arm. "I know it's really none of our business but one of us has to ask eventually; is there something going on between you and Emily?"

Morgan just gave her a long look. He knew it too and the question was not unexpected, but the timing was however.

"What? Come on, JJ..."

"Would you rather have Hotch ask you in front of everyone?" She pointedly raised her eyebrows at him.

"Why does anyone have to ask at all?" he exclaimed, still off his game but regretting his slight outburst the same moment the words came out.

"Morgan... This is not about regulations or anything. It's about the team and how we will be able to handle this situation."

He sighed, pressing his lips together in a thin line. Both he and Emily had known such a question would eventually come. It wasn't exactly a secret that they spent a lot of time together. They'd even discussed it this morning, making jokes and coming up with ways to play with their co-workers' evident curiosity. Especially Garcia's.

Now he looked up from his shoes and met JJ's eyes. They were clouded with concern and he knew she didn't want to get them into trouble. She just wanted this to be over, for the team to function as normal as possible and to get everybody out safely, Emily included.

"No, there's not," he answered then, hoping he didn't have to elaborate. But JJ didn't look convinced.

"Okay. Good..." She nodded slowly. She stepped away and turned to join the others.

"JJ...wait."

She turned back, looking at him inquisitively.

"Yeah?"

"I...," he hesitated, scratching the back of his neck. "You have all reason to ask, you know. I just don't have a good answer right now."

JJ nodded in understanding. She knew there was more to this and hopefully the whole ordeal would end well so they could get a chance at finding a good answer. Because God only knew, they deserved it after all they'd gone through.

"I know that you and I usually don't talk about things like this but... Emily is one of my best friends and..- You can, you know... If you need to," she said, giving a small smile.

Morgan sensed her discomfort and understood completely. He and JJ had never really bonded. They got along and he trusted her immensely. But his solid rock had always been Garcia, she was his best friend and confidante. And Emily... She was just Emily. But he knew what JJ was trying to get at and felt oddly grateful for that she was the one to step over that boundary and reach out to him. Knowing himself, he would never have done such a thing.

"Thanks, JJ. I mean it."

She offered him yet another small smile and then set off towards the others. Morgan fell into step behind her, his mind now fully set on doing his job. As he joined the team, he glanced up at the rather intimidating building, knowing what was going on between those four walls, knowing who was in there, somewhere...

He took a deep breath and then concentrated on Hotch's words instead. The at the moment unbidden image of Emily then formed in his mind. The memory of her sitting across from him at the diner this very same morning and stealing strawberries off his plate now eased the weight on his chest, if only for a moment.

–

Emily Prentiss had stared into the barrel of way too many guns in her life. But no matter how many times she had done it before, the feeling was still the same. The tightness in her chest, the adrenaline rush roaring through her body and the fear. Always the deafening fear. Just because she had been trained not to show it, to mask it with strength and professionalism, didn't mean it wasn't there hidden beneath all those layers.

As the almost disoriented and seemingly angry man had realized she was in law enforcement, or "a goddamn cop" as he not so delicately had put it, before she'd had the opportunity to cover the badge clipped to her belt. He'd fired five warning shots, shattering some of the fluorescent lights and sending glass shards dancing across the linoleum floor, then waved his gun around and collected all their cellphones. And now Emily's gun, which he pocketed and immediately claimed as his own.

She had handed it over without a fuss, clearly remembering the UnSub's first threat upon marching through the Emergency Room. "If any you are stupid enough to break the rules, then someone else in this room will pay for it! Because that's how it works, apparently." The anger burning in his eyes told her that it wasn't just an empty threat.

"I'll keep an eye on you," he saw in a low voice, his cold eyes boring into Emily's, before moving on to a group of nurses and collecting their pagers.

Emily then glanced around the E.R, trying to assess the situation. The waiting area wasn't that crowded and no one seemed to be in critical condition. All she registered from them was fear, bordering close to panic. She counted eleven people on the uncomfortable plastic chairs near in the waiting area, near the main entrance. Two of them were children. She then counted twelve nurses, nine doctors, a janitor and the young woman in the reception. That was thirty-six people. And she had no idea how many people were trapped inside trauma- and examination rooms.

This could easily sum up to at least fifty people. Knowing her team was aware of the situation, and most likely already out on the parking lot around the corner, she turned her focus back to the UnSub, who was currently ordering all the medical staff into the lounge room. Dr Perry, the attending physician she had been interviewing shot her a terrified look before the door closed behind him and his co-workers. The UnSub pointed his gun into the room and reminded them of his initial threat. "If one of you comes out, I'll blow someone's brains out. And if I remember correctly the Hippocratic oath says 'do no harm', but that doesn't really mean anything to you at all, I guess …," he then muttered, more to himself before slamming the door shut.

Emily watched from the reception as the UnSub moved away from the door and rip open the doors to the examination rooms down the hall. Emily heard the frightened screams of the patients as they were ushered out to the waiting area.

Watching him closely, Emily felt slightly off her game. She had been in a similar situation before, being bound and locked into a room by sect leader Benjamin Cyrus. Just like Cyrus, this UnSub seemed to want his hostage all in the same place. _Easier to control. _But this was a lot of people. And no followers, like Cyrus had had. This was basically a lunatic waving a gun (having another gun, her gun, in his possession) at dozens of innocent people being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

For a brief moment, she let her mind flicker back to this very same morning. Breakfast with Morgan. How he affectionately swatted her hand away as she tried to steal the strawberries off his plate and how obvious it was that he let her get away with it. His hand warm and firm at her back as they'd walked towards the car, believing this to be just another Friday at the office before finally getting the weekend off. _So much for that..._

But her attention was soon ripped back to reality as she heard screams pierce the eerie silence. Whirling around, her eyes widened as she watched a man stand cautiously from his chair. The UnSub was still pacing, gun firmly in his hand and index finger still resting on the trigger, but didn't notice the man in the far corner. He looked disheveled and was clutching his elbow. Emily guessed dislocated shoulder from the way he cradled his arm. Even before he moved, she knew this was a bad idea.

She watched as if in slow motion. She wanted to scream, yell at him to not do this. It could be a fatal mistake. But she could only watch as the man lunged himself at the pacing UnSub. The man winced in pain as the rapid movement probably didn't do much to improve the condition of his already injured shoulder.

Almost paralyzed, Emily and the other occupants of the waiting area watched in shock as the two men wrestled. With the advantage of being taller and not having sustained any injuries, the UnSub had soon knocked the man to the floor. Emily watched in horror as the UnSub boldly pointed his gun at the man on the floor.

"Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Haven't you heard a single word of what I said? You want these people's blood on your hands, huh?" he spat, waving his gun in the general direction of the other patients.

For a moment, Emily thought the UnSub would blow the man's brains out, in front of all these people, children included. As the shot rang out, Emily involuntarily squeezed her eyes shut. She'd seen people been shot before, she'd been shot herself. But the childish impulse that closing your eyes would prevent something from happening kicked in. As silence once more settled and the echo of the shot rang out, she dared to open her eyes again.

Half the people in their plastic chairs had done the same as she had. Closed their eyes, hid behind their hands, covered the eyes and ears of their children. The first thing that registered was the UnSub. He was still pointing his gun at the man on the floor. Slowly letting her gaze wander from the gun to the floor, Emily let out the breath she was unconsciously holding, as she realized that the man on the floor was still alive. But the red spreading rapidly from the shoulder on his white dress shirt told her that he wouldn't be if he didn't get help.

The man on the floor groaned in pain and a small sneer spread across the UnSub's face. Emily felt the anger start to grow exponentially. That was the reason for her choosing this rather morbid career path. To prevent innocent people from getting hurt. Sure, it had been insanely reckless of the man to fathom he could tackle down an armed man with a dislocated shoulder. But she also knew fear, anger and panic could make someone do incredibly unexpected and dangerous things. She'd done it herself. But no matter what, there was no excuse for blowing out someone's shoulder.

Feeling all rationale quickly slipping from her own body, Emily took a few tentative steps, around the counter of the front desk. At the sound of her heels on the linoleum floor, the UnSub whirled around, now pointing his gun at her.

"You gotta be kidding me?" he scoffed. "I thought cops were smarter than this..."

"He's going to bleed out if we don't stop the bleeding, " Emily spoke gently, surprised at how calm she sounded. The complete opposite of the chaos she felt inside. She held up her hands and took another careful step towards the man crumpled on the ground.

"Does it really look like I care, huh? You think I would shoot him and then patch him up?"

Swallowing, Emily decided to try another tactic.

"What's your name?"

Squinting his eye in suspicion at her, the UnSub still didn't lower his gun.

"You think I'll fall for that? You think that we can "bond" and then I will suddenly decide not to just shoot them all?"

"You think that I can make you surrender by getting you to tell me your name?" Emily managed a snort herself, pulling together the last remnants of confidence she could find at the moment. "Cops are not super heros. Mind readers."

The UnSub didn't reply. He just glared at her, knowing she was right.

"Lucas. Montgomery. You?"

"Emily Prentiss."

"You're a fed."

"Yup."

Still holding her hands up, Emily tried desperately to keep her voice and gaze steady. But the constant reminder of that with a flick of a finger, the UnSub could easily put a bullet through her chest. Head. Whatever. She was too spoiled wearing a Kevlar. Having her whole team over the intercom, the familiar weight of her gun in her hand and her partner at her back. Now she was just like any civilian. It made her feel oddly exposed and vulnerable.

"Can I ask why you are doing all this?"

"Doesn't really matter."

"Actually, it does," she answered, her mind flashing back to the countless case files they'd gone over. Studied motives, triggers and causes. She had to keep in mind that to this UnSub this was right, rational. The only logical act.

The UnSub kept his eyes locked on her. Concluding he wouldn't give her an answer, Emily turned her attention back to the semi-conscious man on the floor.

"Can I help him?"

Not answering, the UnSub turned his focus back to the man on the floor. "Get up!"

When he didn't move, the UnSub roughly grabbed him by his good arm and pulled him up on his feet. Then he looked back to Emily, gun still pointed in her direction.

"No funny business! In there. You try anything, I'll make sure you regret it. I take it as a fed getting people killed wouldn't look that good now, would it?" he said with venom in his voice. Still surprised that he hadn't simply put another round in _her _shoulder, Emily obediently slipped into the indicated examination room. The UnSub ripped the door open and without further ado pushed both Emily and the injured man into the room.

"Blinds down."

The he slammed the door shut, causing it to shake on its hinges. Emily quickly shut the blinds before kneeling on the floor.

"What's your name?" she asked gently, as the man seemed to come around again.

"James," he wheezed, face scrunched up with pain. Emily glanced down at his shoulder and the amount of blood reminded her that she really had to stop the flow. Still squatting on the floor, she glanced around the dark room, searching for something useful to put pressure on the wound.

"Here, take this."

Startled by the quiet voice form the corner, it suddenly dawned on Emily that there was already someone in the room. Surprised that she'd neither heard or seen anyone, Emily now stood. On the floor across the room she could make out the silhouette of a young girl, sitting against the wall, knees to her chest and holding out a plastic bag containing gauze pads.

The girl gingerly stood and made her way over to her unexpected company. As the girl came closer, Emily quickly estimated her to be not even twenty. Seventeen maybe. The girl sported an open gash on her forearm and a bruise was forming on her cheek where several cuts had stopped bleeding and was now caked with dried blood.

The girl sat down cross-legged on the floor and pressed the gauze into Emily's hand. Emily offered a smile that she hoped to be comforting before gently pressing the gauze to James' shoulder. He winced, then kept focusing on breathing deeply through the searing pain.

Emily let her gaze flicker from the injured man on the floor and the seemingly calm but slightly frightened girl on her right. Then to the closed door and drawn blinds. Once again her mind drifted back to this morning. Breakfast. Laughing with her team only hours ago. She knew they'd be here by now. Probably out on the parking lot, in their Kevlar, discussing negotiation tactics. She imagined JJ forcing curious reporters off the scene. Hotch's frown. Rossi's determined face. Reid deep in thought. And Morgan... At thought of her partner, she let her eyes fall shut for a moment. She could easily envision his distress, anger, restlessness. Swallowing the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat, she let her mask of strength slip back on before turning to face the young girl on the floor next to her.

"I'm Emily, " she offered gently.

The girl looked at her, almost wistfully.

"Molly."

Emily managed another small smile, then glanced back at the closed door. As she looked back at James and Molly, Emily wanted nothing but to hear the sound of familiar boots outside and Morgan bursting through said door, telling her it would be alright. Because it would.

_Right?_

–

**Author's Note: **Okay, so that's chapter two. Thank you for being patient with me. Don't have that much time to write but I'm sorry for not updating earlier. Some reviews would be appreciated! And I apologize for any inconsistencies. This chapter has been written over a long period of time and even if I did proof-read it, some mistakes might have slipped through.


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